5 Perks to Having Pets with Kids

For our family, having pets is a no brainer.  It is a necessity of life; one I could not live without.  The love we are able to give these animals that we have adopted and the love they give us in return is priceless. Understandably pets do not fit into all lifestyles and for some families having a pet just won’t work, recognizing those limitations is just as important as the jump to get a pet.  Lately, I have found myself thinking of the advantages of raising our kids surrounded by pets in our home.  Below, I have listed just a few- but the perks certainly are not limited to these five!

Teaching Responsibility

Families find different ways to nourish responsibility in their children, for us having animals in our home became a natural way to teach this characteristic.  As soon as our daughters wake up in the morning, they know it is time to feed and give fresh water to the animals in the house.  Every morning the girls take part in our dog, Nova’s, morning walk. They understand we set aside time a few times each week for thorough cleanings of the guinea pigs and bunnies living space. The best part of this “responsibility” is that they just see it as life. They think nothing of stopping on a hike and giving our dog some of their water or turning on the faucet because our old man cat prefers fresh tap water to bowl water. Recently, we were asked if they had any chores that they do around the house, and I mentioned caring for the animals.  My oldest responded with, “That isn’t a chore, that is just a part of life.”

Growing Compassion/Empathy

Sometimes I feel like these traits are a good thing and a curse all at the same time.  I love their amazing ability to see others, feel a bit of what they are going through and treat those beings accordingly.  These traits can also weigh heavily when others do not take them for all they are worth. This translates into my youngest being heartbroken if she sees someone squish a bug. You can often find her trying to catch a bug who has made its way inside to be released into the wild. I have always reminded my girls to think of how it feels to be these animals, big or little, that we are around and how different circumstances may make those creatures feel.  We were recently at a party and a plate near us became overrun with ants.  Naturally, I picked it up to put it in the trash. My youngest daughter exclaims, “You can’t do that! You will put all of the ants in the trash, and they will die!” Her wholehearted concern over the lives of these ants hit me instantly.  She and I were ready to pick each ant off of that plate one by one when another mother came over and said, “Let's just leave the plate in the garden so the ants can finish eating and then I will take care of it.” I am not sure the fate of those ants on that lovely summer day, but I do know that my daughter's feelings were validated and next time she sees something she feels is wrong, I hope that reinforced her confidence to speak up. Speaking of confidence…….

Building Confidence

If nothing else, our daughters are very confident in their ability to take care of all of their pets.  They will happily tell their friends and family how to care for them, how to hold them (or tell them not to hold them at all) and proper ways to interact with our pets.  They will meet other people's pets with ease.  Both of my daughters instantly feel more comfortable if they are somewhere and they are in the presence of animals, whether those animals be dogs, cats, horses, guinea pigs, bunnies or, for my youngest, even snakes.  For children that the world has deemed as "quiet" or "shy" (that is post for a later date), they sure do assert themselves with confidence if an animal has been wronged.

Setting Boundaries

Having pets does not mean it is a free-for-all with how our family interacts with our dog, cat, guinea pigs and bunny.  We certainly do not subscribe to the idea that since there are kids in the house the pets need to interact with our children at every moment that our children feel the need.  This has taught our children to respect the boundaries of others.  When interacting with the animals we need to read their body language, whether it be a yawn from a dog or a flick of a tail from the cat, they know they need to back off even if our children were still enjoying that interaction.  For our dog, her crate is her safe place, she enjoys going in here for some time to relax and our daughters know that she is never to be bothered here and her crate is also never to be used as a toy.  When they are having cuddles with their guinea pigs, they know through noises and body movement when the guinea pigs are ready to be free again.  Learning these boundaries will hopefully help them respect human boundaries and make sure they surround themselves with friends who respect their boundaries as well.

Learning Flexibility

Having pets is a huge commitment. It is taking on the care of another living being, whose needs cannot be ignored.  When you make a commitment to adopting an animal, in this house we see the importance of seeing it through.  Times can always be difficult, but we need to focus on the solution for these animals whether it be behaviorally or physically.  Over time, my girls have learned that taking on these animals means we may need to leave a party early because we need to get home to bring the dog out, we may need to say no to a vacation because it is not pet friendly. When our dog was a young puppy, we had to say no to many day trips because it wasn’t an option to leave her in a crate all day.  Did that mean we missed out on some fun? Yes.  But it also meant that we built trust and a bond with our pet that it was our choice to adopt.  

I am so thankful these pets have helped mold my girls into the wonderful humans that are today, and I hope the experiences with our pets continue to build these traits plus so many more!